Allamakee Record

While we know that James Ryan is buried in St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery, there are no "official records" of Ann Ryan being buried in the County. There are several "Ryan" plots that are unmarked or noted as "unknown." We believe that she is buried next to James Ryan, but may be in an unmarked grave or worn out grave marker. According to the historical society in Allamakee, when families didn't have a lot of money, markers were not provided. We know that she lived in the County long after James died.

This is the 1872 Plat of Union Prairie Township is the first map we have that shows the Ryans located in Union Prairie township. Look at the letter "O". Beneath the "O" is the James Ryan, Sr. land. Above the "O" is Dennis Ryan's farm. And between the "O" and the "N" is James Ryan, Jr. farm. While the Ryan holdings will increase over the years, these parcels of land will be in the family for over 30 years.

One of the more interesting things about this map is that another Ryan is co-located with the James Ryan family. He was Patrick Ryan, and we suspect that this is the same Patrick Ryan that signed up for citizenship on the 24th of December along with James Sr. and James Jr.

Note: After you click on map, look for "arrows". If arrows don't appear, move cursor off the map and then move cursor back onto the map. The arrows should appear. Click on arrows to enlarge picture.

In 1886, James Jr. no longer lived in Union Prairie township. We now see that Dennis Ryan has expanded his holdings to include farmland south of the Fitzgeralds. James Sr. had died approximately 5 years earlier, and the property was now in the possession of "Mrs. James Ryan."

To find their property, look for "20" and "21". The Ryan farms are prominent in this section. Dennis also had 80 acres in the plat numbered "28". About a mile east of the Ryans was another Ryan by the name of Daniel. Bat Ryan was a baptismal sponsor for one of his daughters.

All these MAPS may take a slight bit longer to appear on your screen. They will be larger and easier for you to view. Well worth the few seconds longer to fully appear on your computer.

As you look at the 1903 map of Union Prairie, something does change. The original James Ryan Sr. farmstead is no longer in the family possession. It has been sold to a Joseph McAmeny.

We know that in 1900, Annie Ryan was living with the Dennis Ryan family, and she claimed to be 80 years old. Because the land was in someone else's possession by 1903, suggests that she had died sometime between 1900 and 1903. As we don't know when Dennis Ryan uprooted his family to Oklahoma, it is likely that this occurred after his mother's death.

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The next map of Union Prairie shows that the original farmlands of James Sr. and Dennis Ryan were owned by Joseph McAmeny. We know that Dennis died in 1907 at a private asylum in Dubuque, and that according to the court records, his land was sold to pay for the medical bills.

There are some other Ryans in the area, but most likely not children of Dennis or James Sr. Their children were spread out between Cushing, Oklahoma to Rolla, Missouri.

St. Patrick's Church in Waukon where Bat and Liza Ryan were married. Some census information of interest: Also, I notice in the 1870 census for Allamakee county for James and Annie Ryan it mentions some of their children. By this time James Jr. was married and Bridget (Hill) Ryan & were living with them although married within the past year. There is a daughter by the name of 'Annie' listed too. It is possibly Catherine.

This is the 1880 census for James and Ann Ryan. James was born in 1808 or thereabouts?

1880 Household (a year before James Ryan's death):

Name	Relation	Marital Status	Gender	Race	Age	Birthplace	Occupation	Father's Birthplace	Mother's Birthplace
James RYAN	Self	M	Male	W	72	IRE	Farmer	IRE	IRE
Ann RYAN	Wife	M	Female	W	58	IRE	Keeping House	IRE	IRE
Catherine RYAN	Dau	S	Female	W	21	IRE	Works At Home	IRE	IRE
Daniel RYAN	Son	S	Male	W	19	IRE	Works At Home	IRE	IRE
Thomas RYAN	GSon	S	Male	W	9	IA	At School	IRE	IRE

Over the past few months, we have been in contact with other Ryans who have ancestral claims to Allamakee County. We have received photos of a number of cemetery plots (unfortunately not of our James Ryan family members), this one is probably the most relevant. It is the cemetery plot for Daniel Ryan, who lived a mile east of our ancestors. We collectively believe that there is a family link between our family and Daniel's family, but we're not certain which side we actually claim as relatives. Daniel's wife maiden name was also Ryan.

We will find this answer, but in the meantime, we have received notes such as:

From: Allamakee Historical Society
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2005 11:05 AM
To: Smith, Terrence W (Terry), CMO
Subject: James Ryan

I did some searching, but was not able to find an obituary of James Ryan. From our cemetery index, I'm pretty sure the James Ryan you are looking for was born in 1806 and died August 31, 1881. In the remarks by those dates it says Co. Tipperary, Ireland, but that is all. That James Ryan is buried at St. John's cemetery at West Ridge, which is in Union Prairie township. We do have some naturalization papers for a James Ryan who was 60 years old in 1867, but it only says he is from Ireland. I didn't find any Ann Ryans that fit into the right time frame. I'm sorry I can't be any more help. If there is any thing else we can do for you, let us know.

Sincerely,

Emily Bradbury

Summer curator